Elevator-door-operating mechanism.



J. E. w. F OG AL. ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED-APR. 15. 1916.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

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.551 39 a Mf/VESSES J? 5 42 9 VENTORI I f zen? I BY v v ATTORNEYS 1. E. W. FOGAL.

ELEVATOR DOOROPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR-W5 I916.

. Patented 0ct. l7,1916.'

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' JOHN E. W. FOGAL, OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO QUINCY ELEVATOR GATE 00.,

OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ELEVATOR-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17,1916.

Application filed April 15, 1918. Serial No. 91,317.

To all tvhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN 'E. W. FoeAL,'a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Quincy, in the county of Adams and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Elevator-Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to elevator well doors and has particular reference to improved means for controlling the operation thereof from the elevator car.

Among the objects of the invention is to simplify and improve the well door operatmg mechanism with respect not only to simplicity and reliability of operation, but also with respect to the safety afl'orded by the apparatus with the running of the entire equipment.

More definitely stated, I provide locking means for a series of vertically slidable well doors serving to hold the doors locked shut except when the elevator car is in position to permit one 'of such doors to be opened, means also being provided to prevent the operation of the car when any one of the doors is open.-

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the'cxact details of construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view showing an elevator shaft, a series of vertically movable doors opposite their respective floors, an elevator car adapted to reciprocate up and down in the shaft, and power mechanism for operating the doors and controlling the operation of the car; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the wall fixtures, a fragment of the door lifting barguided' therein, and thecooperating devices for controlling the position of the door; Fig.

the push bar carried by the car trolling mechanism in the position indicated automatic switch controlling the operation of the car with respect to the position of the doors. l

Although I show and refer herein to a series of vertically slidable well doors, I shall hereinafter employ simply the term door and mean thereby to cover any suitable construction of well door irrespective of its pos1t1on or direction of movement so long as the spirit thereof is included within the terms of the specification and claims. By the terms elevator car or simply car I mean to cover any type of elevator vehicle for the conveyance of passengers, freight or by a door 13. At 14 .is indicated a push barplvotally connected by a pair of links 15 to a rigid bar 16 secured to some suitable portion of the car adjacent the doorway of the shaft. 'A spring 17 tends to project the bar outwardly with respect to the car toward the doorway.

At 18 I show a vertical lifting bar held for movement in'a definite vertical line or plane by guides 19 constituting parts of brackets 20 secured rigidly to the wall of the elevator shaft adjacent the respective doors. To each of the brackets 20 is pivoted at 21 a latch 22, the latch extending upwardly-from its pivot and-normally booking or locking over the upper edge of an arm 23 extending laterallyfrom the door 13 adjacent such bracket. A check plate 2 1 is secured to the front part of each latch substantially half way between the pivot thereof and the hook portion at its upper end. A spring 25 acts upon the latch tending to force 'it forwardly into locking position, but such swinging movement is limited by a lug 26 carried by the guide portion of the bracket.

A catch 27 is secured rigidly to the lifting bar 18 and carries a nose portion 28 which extends toward the bracket 20 and thence downwardly, hooking normally over the upper edge of the arm 23 on one side of the hook portion of .the latch. This catch serves not only toprevent the undesired opening the path of the car with the points 29 thereof movement of the door, but also to hold the door arm in the plane of" the adjacentedge' of the lifting bar where it will be sure to be engaged by the points 29 of an operating block or actuator 3O pivoted at 31 u on a knuckle 32 secured to the liftin the catch. The actuator exten s upwardly from ,itspivot and embraces both sides. of the lifting bar, the sideplates of the actuator being connected by a web 30 and thereby movement of the actuator laterally with respect to the plane of the lifting bar is prevented. he sides of the, actuator are normally at the same level as the cheek plate 24 and are adapted to contact said cheek plate when the actuator is thrown outwardly toward the bracket by action of the push bar carried by the car, as shown in Fig. 3. The

contact between the push bar and the actuator is borne by an anti-friction roller 33. The free'edges of the sides of the actuator are long enough to cause the latch to be thrown out of locking position with respect to the arm 23 and to bring the upwardly projecting points 29 of the actuator beneath and beyond the lower ed e of the arm 23. When the lifting bar is li ted, therefore, the actuator will securely grasp the door arm and thereby the door will be lifted with the continued movement of the lifting bar. The normal position of the actuator is toward lying against a pin 34 extending laterally from the lifting bar. The actuator is thrown to this position by virtue of the spring 25 acting through the latch and cheek plate when the latch comes into locking positiori, and the actuator is maintained in such normal position by the action of gravity on the weighted roller end thereof. I wish to observe at this time that each door is shown provided with two laterally projecting arms 23 for cooperation with locking mechanism duplicated on opposite sides of the door and with a corresponding duplication of the lifting bar. I wishit to be understood in this connection that while for simplicity of explanation I have-referred hereinbefore to a single locking mechanism coeperating with a single door arm, my invention is to be interpreted broadly enough to cover either one or a plurality of such devices, depending upon the specific nature of the door mechanism or the exigencies of any particular installation.

At 35 I show a motor located at any suitable place and shown as comprising a hydraulic cylinder having a'.piston slidable therein and whose rod 36 is provided with a rack 37. Pressure fluid is admitted to the cylinder 35 by means of a pipe 38 and delivered therefrom through a pipe 39. The

pipe 38 is normally closed by a valve 38 bar 4 elow conductor of the car and is extended thence over suitable'direction pulleys 42 and 43 to the wheel 40. A pull upon the controlling rope 41, therefore, will turn the wheel 40 to open the valve 38 and close the other valve with a corresponding admission of motive fluid into the cylinder 35. The movement of the rack 37 will rotate a pinion 44 meshing therewith and such movement rotates the shaft 45 and drum 46 secured thereto. The lifting bars 18 are suspended from cables 47 which lead over suitable direction pulleys 48 and thence to said drum 46. The rotation of the drum effects a corresponding winding thereon of the cable or cables 47 ,and causing thereby the elevation of the liftling rope 41 is drawn in the opposite direction the power devices will be restored tonormal position, allowing the open door to return to its closed position where it will be automatically locked and held as already 7 described.

At 49 I show a switch box having a movable blade 50 constituting one end of a lever pivoted at 51. An anti-friction roller 52 carried on the outer free end of the lever is arranged in the path of a shoe 53 carried by a bracketclamped to the piston rod 36. When the shoe 53 moves with the piston rod, in the opening of any door, theshoe bears against the roller 52 and throws the switch so as to break the circuit through the blades 54. These blades are connected to the conductor wires 55 of the main power devices (not shown) for controlling the operation of the elevator car. It will be apparent, therefore, that when any door is open by reason of the actuation of the door operating motor 35, the power will be cut off to prevent the movement of the car. When, however, the door is closed and the shoe 53 returns to its normal position, the switch 50 will again make contact between the blades, restoring the operation of the main hoisting devices.

I claim 1. The combination with a. door, a lifting member movable vertically adjacent the door, and guide means for the lifting member fixed in stationary position, of an arm projecting laterally from the door adjacent the lifting member, a catch secured to the lifting member and having a nose projecting over the arm and thence downwardly, thereby holding the arm in a definite vertical plane, a latch carried by said guiding means and normally engaging over Said arm.

to hold the arm and door down, and an actuator carried by the lifting member below the catch and serving to first disconnect the latch from the arm and subsequently engage beneath the arm and lift the same and the door. when thelifting member is lifted.

- 2. The combination withthe wall of an elevator shaft, a series of doors operating with respect to said wall, a bracket secured to the wall adjacent each door, and a lift-' ing member guided along all of said doors through said brackets, of an arm projecting laterally from each door adjacent the lifting member, a latch carried by each bracket and engaging normally over said arm to hold the door in locked position, a catch *-.e cured to the lifting member adjacent the engaging portion of the latch and serving 'to prevent lateral displacement of the arm from the lifting member, means acting upon the latch tending to throw it into locking engagement, and an actuator carried by the lifting member and adapted to be operated against the force of the last mentioned means first to disconnect the latch from locking position and subsequently engage beneath and lift the arm and door when the lifting member is lifted.

3. The combination with an elevator door having a laterally projecting arm, of a lifting bar guided for vertical movement adjacent said arm, means to prevent lateral movement of either the arm or the bar with respect to the other, an actuator'movably connected to the bar and lying normally at one side of the vertical plane of the arm but adapted to be thrown beneath said arm by reason of the approach of the car adjacent the door, and means to lift the bar and cause the actuator to lift the arm and door.

4. The combination with an elevator door having a rigid projecting part, of a lifting bar adjacent and movable vertically along said part, means cooperating with the bar and said part to prevent lateral movement of either part with respect to the other, an actuator pivotally connected to the bar and projecting upwardly from its pivot along said bar, said actuator including a weighted projection serving to hold its upper end out of the path of said projecting part of the door, means carried by a car approaching the door to cause the actuator to be thrown beneath the projecting part, and means to lift the bar and through it and the actuator to lift the door.

5. The combination with an elevator door -and a laterally projecting arm secured thereposition, an actuator secured to the lifting member below the catch, and means carried by the car serving to throw the actuator against the latch to cause it to swing on its pivot and release the arm, and means to lift the lifting member.

6. The combination with an elevator door and a laterally projecting arm secured thereto, of a lifting bar adjacent said arm, mearis to lift the bar, a bracket constituting a guide for the bar, means cooperating with the arm to hold the same and the door in normal locked position, an actuator pivoted to the bar and extending upwardly from its pivot and having at its upper end a point normally at one side of the vertical plane of the arm but adapted when moved around its pivot to engage beneath the arm and unlock the door, and means carried by the car to throw the actuator into its last mentioned position whereby the door will be lifted when the lifting bar is lifted.

7. The combination with an elevator door plate carried by the latch below the arm,

means to positively limit the movement of the latch under the force of the spring, an actuator carried by the bar and movable laterally with respect thereto, and means carried by the car cooperating with the actuator to cause such relative movement thereof against said cheek plate to release the latch from the arm and subsequently engage beneath and lift the arm and door when the bar is lifted.

8. The combination with an elevator door and a laterally projecting part carried thereby, of a lifting bar, means to lift the bar, means cooperating with the projecting part aforesaid serving to hold the same in definite position with respect to the bar, an actuator pivoted at its lower end upon the bar and extending upwardly from its pivot on opposite sides of the bar and terminating in points normally below but at one side of the vertical plane of the projecting part, means carried by the bar cooperating with said points to limit the lateral movement of the actuator in normal position, said actuator having a weighted projection serving to -maintain the actuator in such normal position at one side of the plane of the projecting part, and means carried by the car cooperating with said weighted projection serving to cause the points of the actuator to move beneath the projecting part of the door in position to unlock the door and subsequently lift the same during the lifting of the bar.

9. In well door operating devices for elevators, the combination with a series of doors, of a vertically movable bar adjacent the doors, interlocking devices between the doors and said bar, a power drum, :1 flexible connection between the bar and the drum, a

fluid pressure motor including a recipro- .the movement of the car when any door is open.

JOHN E. W. FOGAL.

Witnesses: I

H. P; SIMPSON, L. M. DUNCAN. 

